A Perfect Plastic Material for Studies on Self-Propelled Motion on the Water Surface
We describe a novel plastic material composed of camphene, camphor, and polypropylene that seems perfectly suited for studies on self-propelled objects on the water surface. Self-motion is one of the attributes of life, and chemically propelled objects show numerous similarities with animated motion...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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Series: | Molecules |
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Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/11/3116 |
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author | Richard J. G. Löffler Martin M. Hanczyc Jerzy Gorecki |
author_facet | Richard J. G. Löffler Martin M. Hanczyc Jerzy Gorecki |
author_sort | Richard J. G. Löffler |
collection | DOAJ |
description | We describe a novel plastic material composed of camphene, camphor, and polypropylene that seems perfectly suited for studies on self-propelled objects on the water surface. Self-motion is one of the attributes of life, and chemically propelled objects show numerous similarities with animated motion. One of important questions is the relationship between the object shape and its motility. In our paper published in 2019, we presented a novel hybrid material, obtained from the solution of camphor in camphene, that allowed making objects of various shapes. This hybrid material has wax-like mechanical properties, but it has a very high tackiness. Here, we report that a small amount of polypropylene removed this undesirable feature. We investigated the properties of camphor–camphene–polypropylene plastic by performing the statistical analysis of a pill trajectory inside a Petri dish and compared them with those of camphor-camphene wax. The plastic showed the stable character of motion for over an hour-long experiment. The surface activity of objects made of plastic did not significantly depend on the weight ratios of the compounds. Such a significant increase in usefulness came from the polypropylene, which controlled the dissipation of camphor and camphene molecules. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:08:24Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-7d2a76526ced4ce4893b855f6f6f039d |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1420-3049 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:08:24Z |
publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Molecules |
spelling | doaj.art-7d2a76526ced4ce4893b855f6f6f039d2023-11-21T21:00:30ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492021-05-012611311610.3390/molecules26113116A Perfect Plastic Material for Studies on Self-Propelled Motion on the Water SurfaceRichard J. G. Löffler0Martin M. Hanczyc1Jerzy Gorecki2Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, PolandLaboratory for Artificial Biology, Centre for Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Polo Scientifico e Tecnologico Fabio Ferrari, Polo B, Via Sommarive 9, 38123 Povo, TN, ItalyInstitute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, PolandWe describe a novel plastic material composed of camphene, camphor, and polypropylene that seems perfectly suited for studies on self-propelled objects on the water surface. Self-motion is one of the attributes of life, and chemically propelled objects show numerous similarities with animated motion. One of important questions is the relationship between the object shape and its motility. In our paper published in 2019, we presented a novel hybrid material, obtained from the solution of camphor in camphene, that allowed making objects of various shapes. This hybrid material has wax-like mechanical properties, but it has a very high tackiness. Here, we report that a small amount of polypropylene removed this undesirable feature. We investigated the properties of camphor–camphene–polypropylene plastic by performing the statistical analysis of a pill trajectory inside a Petri dish and compared them with those of camphor-camphene wax. The plastic showed the stable character of motion for over an hour-long experiment. The surface activity of objects made of plastic did not significantly depend on the weight ratios of the compounds. Such a significant increase in usefulness came from the polypropylene, which controlled the dissipation of camphor and camphene molecules.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/11/3116camphenecamphorpolypropylenesurface tensionself-propelled motion |
spellingShingle | Richard J. G. Löffler Martin M. Hanczyc Jerzy Gorecki A Perfect Plastic Material for Studies on Self-Propelled Motion on the Water Surface Molecules camphene camphor polypropylene surface tension self-propelled motion |
title | A Perfect Plastic Material for Studies on Self-Propelled Motion on the Water Surface |
title_full | A Perfect Plastic Material for Studies on Self-Propelled Motion on the Water Surface |
title_fullStr | A Perfect Plastic Material for Studies on Self-Propelled Motion on the Water Surface |
title_full_unstemmed | A Perfect Plastic Material for Studies on Self-Propelled Motion on the Water Surface |
title_short | A Perfect Plastic Material for Studies on Self-Propelled Motion on the Water Surface |
title_sort | perfect plastic material for studies on self propelled motion on the water surface |
topic | camphene camphor polypropylene surface tension self-propelled motion |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/11/3116 |
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